Girl, 7, falls to death in KL mall

A primary schoolgirl died after plunging three storeys to her death during an escalator accident in a Kuala Lumpur mall on Saturday.

Seven-year-old Nurul Emielda Nadia Sallehuddin was heading to the third storey of The Gardens Mall when she slipped through a small opening at the top corner of the escalator at about 2pm, reported Malaysia's The Star.

Her parents told police they had taken their eyes off the child when they heard a thud.

They were shocked to find their daughter sprawled in a pool of blood and her head crushed.

The girl's father was reluctant to speak to reporters at the University Malaya Medical Centre mortuary and expressed his disagreement with how some media had reported the incident.

He asked: "You already have the answers, so why do you still need a statement from me?

"Why hurt my feelings?"

PRIVACY

He asked that the media respect the family's privacy, as he walked to the surau (prayer house) to pray for his daughter.

A news portal reported that Emielda was playing with her brother near the escalator when she fell.

However, Brickfields OCPD Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Azlee Abdullah, disputed the portal's description of the incident, saying that Emielda was actually an only child.

Mr Muhammad Azlee said that investigations were ongoing.

In light of the accident, Association of Registered Childcare Providers Malaysia president P.H. Wong said the designs of shopping malls should include child safety features, while Malaysia Shopping Malls Association adviser H.C Chan stressed the importance of children being supervised while they are on escalators.

This article was first published on June 3, 2014.
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